American Apparel straps RFID tags onto individual garments

RFID clothing is far from revolutionary, but American Apparel is about to get everyone's attention by placing tags on a smorgasbord of garments. The firm is setting out to implement RFID at the item-level, meaning that tags will eventually hit each article of clothing it produces. For starters, the advanced inventory system will be rolled out across each of its 17 metro New York locations, while plans are already in place to deploy the solution to another 120 North American outlets. The idea is to track individual pieces as they're "tagged at the company's manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, received in its retail stores, stored in the stock rooms at the stores, and then placed onto the sales floor and ultimately sold at the point-of-sale." Of course, we wouldn't expect the tags to follow you home or anything -- too bad we can't say the same for the company's skeezy CEO, Dov Charney.

[Image courtesy of The New York Times]

[waiownsyou @ Apr 15th 2008 12:00AM]

skeezy?

[Aguiluz @ Apr 15th 2008 12:13AM]

Ran a google search a minute back. And you know what came at the very top of the list?

"Skeezy - Free Gay Pictures and Movies!"


No, I'm not making this up.
http://www.google.ca/search?q=skeezy&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

[v3xx @ Apr 15th 2008 12:20AM]

well people who shop there do come off a little gay.

[Timothy Shundo @ Apr 15th 2008 12:21AM]

No, believe me, he's skeezy alright.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/11/14833837_0c0b65d608.jpg

[CraigJ @ Apr 15th 2008 12:24AM]

"well people who shop there do come off a little gay."

Well, that's cool because gay guys get all the chicks. They just don't know what to do with them once they have them

[CraigJ @ Apr 15th 2008 12:28AM]

Oh, and yeah, they look super gay to me...
http://www.americanapparel.net/gallery/photocollections/models/index.html

Click some of the links....

[Blayne @ Apr 15th 2008 12:29AM]

Gay is the new black, and you guys are pathetic.

[absurdio @ Apr 15th 2008 1:59AM]

Oh, yeah, skeezy. That's the word for the guy.

http://knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=American_Apparel%2C_LLC

About two-thirds of the way down, it gets PARTICULARLY ...well...skeezy.

Weird f***in' guy.

[gabe @ Apr 15th 2008 12:08AM]

never worn American apparel - what kind of person buys their clothing?

[Rafer @ Apr 15th 2008 12:10AM]

Hipsters.

[kevin @ Apr 15th 2008 12:20AM]

Or someone wanting to buy american and pull their support from companies using sweatshops. And their clothing is rather plain. No fanciful logos like most shops. I don't see how one could call that, "hipster."

[Timothy Shundo @ Apr 15th 2008 12:17AM]

People who don't need everyone to know where they wear purchase their clothes from by buying logo-plastered shirts and jackets...?

What? You mean no witty comments or remarks on the back of their t-shirts? Just solid colors and patterns? Yup, clothes for hipsters.

..

Wow, I can get pretty offended over nothing sometimes.

[Chicksta @ Apr 15th 2008 12:23AM]

You may remember AA clothing from such banner ads as 't-shirts now in 30 colors' and 'dress now in 30 colors'... if you don't block your ads, that is.
I always thought they just did stuff for promotional wear; you can order most of their stuff w/your logos on it, right? I've never seen their stores, and I'm in major shopping areas of the country all the time...

[michael pina @ Apr 15th 2008 12:40AM]

@Rafer:

LOL

[Nick Catalano @ Apr 15th 2008 3:12AM]

A lot of the custom t-shirt places like Threadless and Shirt.Woot use them a ton since they offer super-deep discounts in higher quantities.

I go to the store, find what I want, write down the number then buy it on eBay for 70% less than the store price. It isn't that I want to be hip or anything, I just think their clothing is comfortable to wear and I don't want to deal with a ton of logos and other crap.

[Lupo @ Apr 15th 2008 4:37AM]

basically they sell basics in bright'n'shiny colors, their fairly popular, and their site is full of softcore porn

[ishism @ Apr 15th 2008 5:14AM]

A couple friends of mine work there. Nothing but good looking, friendly, sales people. I've also purchased from the main outlet in L.A. Now for the skeezy founder, so what? Skeez is everywhere. That's the F-N culture. People should be more slutty. You don't like it, change it.

[CraigJ @ Apr 15th 2008 12:21AM]

As someone who has worked with inventory control systems, I can say that this is how EVERYTHING will be in 5-years. For example, the ability to walk down an isle in the warehouse and have the physical count taken via RF will be a huge time saver and therefore a huge money saver. RFID has the potential to increase efficiency and accuracy more than bar codes and laser scanners did.

[Twitchy @ Apr 15th 2008 2:51AM]

Add to that the ability to be able to tell exactly when and what gets nicked from your store - right down to the serial number. Would reduce theft by staff too if the RFID tags are hidden inside articles and not just the packaging.

[z @ Apr 15th 2008 12:14PM]

looks like you're right, there have been some concepts around thought http://eco-code.info/ecocode2008.pdf

[kagai @ Apr 15th 2008 12:26AM]

Of course you wouldn't EXPECT the tags to follow you home...of course! hahahahmuhahahaMUHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[hp540 @ Apr 15th 2008 12:26AM]

American Apparel: crap clothes for 10x the price!

[paul @ Apr 15th 2008 12:32AM]

Actually, their clothes are very well-made, and ethical considering they pay their workers $12/hr instead of the slave wages paid by other t-shirt companies. I'll gladly pay $15 for a soft, nicely made t-shirt that didn't require human beings to be treated like farm animals.

[v3xx @ Apr 15th 2008 12:40AM]

thats you paul, then there are those who care more about eating the next day than telling everyone you overpaid for your shirt.

[CraigJ @ Apr 15th 2008 12:54AM]

@v3xx. This is exactly the problem with American's purchasing decisions. We buy solely on price, and who gives a shit about the long term effects. Shit made in China and Indonesia by people making next to nothing is detremental on many levels. Personally, if my choice is $10 at the Gap for a t-shirt made in Indonesia, or $15 at AA for basically the same shirt made locally (better for the economy, better for the environment) I'm going to pay the $15 for the domestically made shirt.

[hipst0rz @ Apr 15th 2008 12:56AM]

AA has good quality clothing at a respectable price. Not significantly more than china-made sweatshop garb found in many other retailers. I feel good purchasing from AA knowing that my money stays in the local economy.

Furthermore, AA gains stunning manufacturing efficiency, flexibility, and responsiveness through vertical manufacturing practices. (see Apple for another example of the benefits of Vertical Integration)

And lastly, as a matter of personal preference, I like the simplicity of their clothing. It gives freedom to express my personality through means other designer labels and branding. I prefer to not be a walking advertisement.

Legalize LA.

[hipst0rz @ Apr 15th 2008 12:57AM]

oh. sorry.

I forgot that engadget comments are never used for actual, serious discussion. Disregard my last comment.

[Jack @ Apr 15th 2008 5:20AM]

I always make an effort to buy sweat shop made clothes as I cant stand to think that I might put those little children out of a job

[Ed Bear @ Apr 15th 2008 12:29AM]

Do they also guarantee to deactivate the tags at point-of-sale? Remember, RFID tags can be interrogated by anybody with the right equipment, and with universal use of RFID tags and sales linked to individuals, you could follow around pretty much anybody you wanted to just by pinging their tags regularly.

See Edward Lerner's story "Day of the RFIDs" in the collection "Creative Destruction" for details.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[fuma @ Apr 15th 2008 12:40PM]

yeaaaa.... cant figure out how to remove a cheap tag huh? yer a smart one.

just like all the magnetic security "safer" tags, they are sewn into a "tag" receptacle deliberately inside the garment, they can easily (and are designed to) be cut off after POS.. imagine that!

[Totalfixation @ Apr 15th 2008 12:31AM]

I seriously think this is convenient but also very disturbing. Think about it, that means when we wear an article of clothing you can be tracked. They can tell where you go, what you wear, and so many more information that some would want to keep personal. Suppose the RFID number at this point will be all the same for a particle item, but one day if they permit, it will mean individual serial numbers for each item in the store. Meaning more ways for them intrude into your personal life.

[CraigJ @ Apr 15th 2008 12:46AM]

The plans are already there. Think Minority Report. The movie had it partially right, but it's not your iris they will scan, it is the RFID tags in your clothing, cell phone, PMP, shoes, etc. They will scan and then figure out from that information your likely demographic and will track you through the store and display targeted advertising. This doesn't really bother me since I tend to ignore advertising anyway. What does concern me is the building of a database of specific RFID tag numbers linked to an account with personal information. Retailers already keep track of who buys what, and as history shows, don't always do a good job of protecting that information.

But really, that doesn't bother me all that much either. If you have an active cell phone you can be tracked with a fair degree of accuracy. If you drive a car (that you own) in most major cities you can be tracked. The fact is that you can easily be tracked today, and this has been the case for a number of years. If this concerns you, you should be far more concerned by your cell phone which can track you from a great distance, than a passive RFID tag which would require a plethora of short range scanners. I mean, really, who cares if some geek scans you and finds out the lot number of you Nikes?

Now, RFID in credit cards, passports, driver's licenses concerns me greatly. Unfortunately the nimrods in power haven't a clue what this technology does, or if they do, couldn't care less about your privacy, despite public statements to the contrary.

[fuma @ Apr 15th 2008 1:56AM]

Is someone going to walk by with a laptop and a wand, swipe my jeans and see I wear a size 34? WOWOWOW... what a future we have in store!!! MASS PANIC EVERYONE NOW!!!! SOMEONE CAN HAX0R MY INVENTORY TAG!

OH wait... I cut the tag off... LULZ, no WIN FOR HAX0RZ

[Adam @ Apr 15th 2008 8:22AM]

Tracking someone using the RFID tags left in their clothing from inventory would be one of the least efficient means of stalking someone ever conceived. There are already much simpler ways to identify you (yes, you!) in public than trying to link up that serial number (which is what the tag really is, a unique ID) to a manufacturer's database to your credit card to your identity.

If you really want to be anonymous, unplug your computer, disconnect your cell phone, cut up your credit cards, and don't walk down a city street for the rest of your life. I'm surprised by how easily people scare over RFID when they're already on camera 24/7.

There are large tides of economics which mean that RFID will replace barcodes in the next decade or so, which means a lot of good things for both retailers and consumers. The threat of "privacy loss" is actually very minimal when we're talking about tagging retail goods. This is opposed to the horrible implementation in US passports, which really is a security nightmare. If you're looking to demonize the technology, you might as well start there, with the big guns.

[sjdurfey @ Apr 15th 2008 10:11AM]

@fuma

But i dont wanna be a 34!

[Alexander @ Apr 17th 2008 10:55PM]

Passive RFID tags cannot be tracked. The purpose is solely for inventory control. The chip in the tag is an EPC code - just a string of numbers and characters. Unlike a barcode, the EPC code references a product in the store's database. Once the tag leaves the store it is worthless/useless everywhere else in the world. If it was ever read by accident in another store with an RFID system, it would just be a string of number and characters. It's is not tracking, Cell phones, credit cards...those are tracked.

If any of you are concerned with the nations economy you should pay close attention to Dov and what he is trying to do. The U.S. continues to live on credit/borrowed money, yet we export jobs. I hope you all plan on working your entire lives to pay it off. Worry about your own personal lives.

[kyle allen @ Apr 15th 2008 12:33AM]

wow, i know have about a thousand reasons not to shop somewhere ive never herd of.... i hope to go my whole life withought haveing any sort rifd chips on my person... probly not realistic.

[The_Steven @ Apr 15th 2008 12:38AM]

So my wife comes home from her weekly clothes buying spree at the maul, and sure enough, two items have those in-security tags on them... I asked her how she got away from the renta-cops, no lights, sirens, bells or buzzers....

She went back to have the damn things removed, and they told her that they unplugged the sysrem because it goes off so often....

Yep, welcome to retail, no GED required.

[Andrew @ Apr 15th 2008 12:39AM]

Doesn't the GAP already do this at the garment level?

Thats what that white tab is on the inside of jeans and button up shirts. The tab has a picture of scissors instructing you to cut them out after buying. Hold it up to the light and you can see the chip and antenna.

[fuma @ Apr 15th 2008 1:59AM]

no, that's a magnetic security tag.. makes alarm go BEEP

[Navi Thach @ Apr 15th 2008 2:01AM]

That would be a Sensormatic soft sensor tag. Abercrombie tested them at Hollister from fall 2006-summer 2007 and the shrink rate for Hollister skyrocketed since it's easier for a thief to rip the soft tag off than to walk in with a booster bag.

And you think AA's CEO is bad, I have two words for you:

Mike Jefferies.

[JJ @ Apr 15th 2008 1:00AM]

If only they could get their Skezzy ceo to make an example of himself, and stop doing coke off the design room tables, maybe then the coked out hipster employees would stop stealing his shit.

[andrew @ Apr 15th 2008 1:52AM]

While the tags that you have to cut out could be a form of RFID chips, it is my understanding that RFID chips have now gotten small enough that they can be woven into fabrics, and are invisible to the human eye. RFID chips are already in all new U.S. currency, and as far as I know have been in gillette products for quite a long time.

[The 3rd Hot Dog @ Apr 15th 2008 8:45AM]

@ andrew

There are no RFID chips in US currency.

[The_Steven @ Apr 15th 2008 11:39AM]

That's what /THEY/ want you to think!

[julia @ Apr 15th 2008 1:59AM]

@Paul et al:
the clothes aren't that great... I don't understand. the cobra snake often has 'stylish' wear on the people in his photos with American Apparel, especially the lamé leggings.

[A. @ Apr 15th 2008 3:07AM]

I work at an American Apparel (until graduation, anyway), and while I do support the garments being vertically integrated in the U.S., there is a problem with their quality control. We're constantly damaging out garments for holes and other various defects. When I'm not in my work clothes, I do prefer Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs.

Abercrombie's Mike Jeffries is one scary looking man! There was a substantial boycott against that company when I was modeling about four years ago (then got a clue...and got a college degree). Never worn that crap, and never will. I'll leave that store to its target audience: tan-o-rexic Betty's and Bob's...and their gay counterparts.

[Navi Thach @ Apr 15th 2008 10:22PM]

I'll wear Hollister - Abercrombie's too damn overpriced.

The difference between Hollister and Abercrombie is like the difference between a Toyota and a Lexus(or a Honda and a Acura), a Chamberlain garage door opener to a Craftsman or Lift-Master, or a Dell Vostro to a Dell Inspiron - it's the SAME DAMN THING, the only thing different is the materials used and price.

[Cellenin @ Apr 15th 2008 3:31AM]

Love the store and ads. Skinny hot sluuty looking chicks in ultra tiny tshirts and tight panties...whats the problem with that again?

[ishism @ Apr 15th 2008 5:21AM]

Forgot to mention. The friend of mine, who worked for A.A. as an internal security, was about to uncover a stealing ring inside the company, when he was fired for no apparent reason. The Higher ups were stealing from the owner. Guess this is a counter measure.
True Shet